Computer systems such as servers usually have a number of adapters that allow the systems to exchange data with other computers or devices. Examples of adapters are host bus adapters (HBAs). Most systems use HBAs as interfaces to access large capacity storage devices. These adapters are statically assigned to an operating system. In some newer computer systems, concurrently loading multiple operating systems is a key requirement. Providing additional adapters exclusively to each of these multiple operating systems increases the total cost of ownership of the system.